Peer-to-peer lender Zopa saw its revenues double last year as more savers and borrowers used its platform – but its losses also doubled as the business hired more staff to prepare for its planned future growth.

Revenues jumped from £5.4m in 2013 to £11.5m in 2014, according to the innovative finance firm’s latest set of financial statements. But at the same time its costs jumped, sending its losses up from £2.6m to £5.6m.

“We are delighted that we have doubled revenue in 2014, and we are on track to more than double it again this year to in the region of £23m,” said Zopa’s chief executive Giles Andrews.

The platform is part of a wave of peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders who have positioned themselves as a threat to traditional banks, arguing that savers can get a better return by lending their money more directly to borrowers, while those borrowers may have a better chance of accessing credit from the P2P lenders, or be able to do so at a better interest rate.

However, there are also more risks involved – if the P2P borrowers do not pay the money back then Zopa’s savers could lose out, as the platform does not come with the state-backed guarantee that bank accounts have.

Nonetheless, Zopa has struck a partnership with Metro Bank, a high street banks that was established in 2010 and seeks to challenge the big banks through its branch network.

The deal will see the bank use Zopa’s platform to find suitable borrowers, in an unusual instance of a bank outsourcing its credit decisions to a third party.

Follow the Telegraph on LinkedIn. Share this article with your network.